Travel Update

To any and all readers out there, I apologize for the lack of frequency of posts in this space. I have been with and without my laptop for the better part of two weeks (coffee and laptops do not mix) and recently had to drop it off again at the computer shop due to a persistent wifi issue, which has finally been resolved. I am also in the middle of some travel, having gone to Washington, D.C., Sunday, and am leaving for Amman, Jordan (traveling through Istanbul) in eight hours.

Please, keep looking for more posts here. On my plane flight, I do plan to do some writing in this space, as much as is possible. My on-the-ground insights from Jordan will appear here over the next eight weeks or so. I will have more limited internet connectivity, and a serious general issue of tons and tons of Arabic coursework that will severely limit blogging time. But I should be able to post away fairly frequently. Until then, salaam.

On the Palestinians

I am by no means a "pro-Israel" person. I am, however, a pro-reality person, and the reality is Israel isn't going away. No matter how hard Hamas, Hizballah, Iran, or whatever other threat tries, Israel will not disappear. They could send the region into catastrophic warfare, sure, but so could a lot of other states. Let's all remember a few really important facts. One: Israel has a better-trained army, if not a larger one, than all of its neighbors with the possible exception of Turkey. Two: Israel has nuclear weapons. They may avoid the question, and that's neither here nor there. But they do, and none of their neighbors possess them. Three: Israel has already beaten its neighbors three major times, and several minor times, in wars. Easily. Moreover, Israel has the United States at its back, and if attacked, likely most of the West. Israel isn't going away, and at some point, we all do need to accept that.

Acceptance of that fact then leads a supporter of the Palestinian people's aspiration for statehood — myself — to demand the best possible borders and state for Palestinians. The way I look at it, there are many millions of Palestinians throughout the world. There are Palestinians who carry a passport from another country, who are citizens of France, the UK, the US, Jordan and others. Of the Palestinians worldwide, these probably have it the "best off," though it still isn't idea. Some, like Randa Jarrar, can't visit their homeland due to a Palestinian ID card. I have many friends in Jordan in this predicament, and it is nothing short of unjust; forbidding Palestinians from visiting family and the third-holiest site in Islam, not to mention the site of Christ's crucifixion for Palestinian Christians, is inherently wrong, security concerns be damned.

Another group is the Palestinian refugees, stateless, in Lebanon, Syria (I hope they've all left, but I'm not sure on this point), Jordan and a few in Egypt. No state. No passport. No citizenship. Stripped of nationality, and frankly, dignity.

Another are those in East Jerusalem, denied Israeli citizenship despite its annexation of the city, denied Palestinian citizenship because, well, there is no such thing. I met a peace activist from East Jerusalem and stayed in a guest house run by him when I visited. He has no passport, yet somehow has been to most of the United States. But he is unique, and his is a tragic situation, stripped again of citizenship and statehood.

Palestinians in the West Bank at least have the Palestinian Authority, but that doesn't help much: It isn't a state. Palestinians in Gaza only just now have access out through the Rafah crossing. Palestinians in Israel get to vote for Arab parties consistently outside of Israeli governments and are discriminated against. It's a no-win situation.

All this leads one to conclude that a state is better than no state. Palestinians with a passport are better off than Palestinians without one. Thus, supporters of Palestine should fight for the best state possible. The two-state solution is not dead until people give up. The alternative — long-term apartheid under a one-state solution — is unacceptable, as is the status quo.

I want to touch on the Egypt-Israel peace treaty (and by extension, the Jordan-Israel peace treaty) in another post, as for some bizarre reason, people are uncertain of its future.